COTCOD VOL 42 - DOVES AMONGST MEN
by saruviel
Summary: Chronicles of the Children of Destiny Volume Forty-Two - Doves Amongst Men. Will be expanded upon gradually.


THE 1400 - WORLD 10 - DOVES AMONGST MEN

'Doves Amongst Men'

by

Daniel Thomas Andrew Daly

'Rachel's Lament'

Rachel Smith. She sat there, unmoving, looking into space. Looking nowhere, not wanting to see anything, wanting to forget. Wanting to forget about all the madness of love – love given, yet a love gone, and never to return. An impossible love, in the end. Stupid girl. Should have known better. They come, look all handsome, win your heart, and then they are gone. Taken away in some grand hallucination, and then left in an empty bed. Left to misery and lament, a lost love, forsaken.

Her mother Celia had tried consoling her, as had Jeremy, but to no avail. No, she would not be consoled. She could NOT be consoled.

So she sat there, in her flat in Crossden, staring at the wall on a Saturday afternoon, depressed as fucking hell.

Her mother walked into the room from her bedroom after a while, looked at her glumly, and decided she would think better of the situation and returned to her bedroom. But Rachel didn't care. Hey, who gives a fuck.

Eventually, not knowing what else to do, she took herself off from the flat, and walked out onto the streets of Crossden, not knowing were she was going, not caring.

As she walked she thought on Callodyn's gentle touch. She thought on his strong arms, his protective arms, his arms of love. And thinking she would never feel that love again she found herself on a bridge, looking down at the tarmac below, and stepping off, not caring, not caring.

It was a few hours later, gradually coming into consciousness in the hospital, that Rachel felt the pain in her back instantly. But she was alive. And, somehow, things felt better. She noticed her mother and her brother from the corner of her eye, and the priest. The Anglican priest, reverend Dawson, sitting with Celia, comforting her. He looked at her, noticed her waking up, and smiled.

'She's awake, Celia.'

Celia came over, stroked Rachel's head, and said 'Oh Rachel. Dear Rachel.'

As the weeks passed she recovered, and realized she had been prayed for. And so, coming out of the hospital, the doctors telling her to be careful with her back, she came to reverend Dawson and sat with him late in the afternoons, learning about Jesus.

She quit her work after a while and her mother agreed to support her, but Social Security offered her a disability pension for her back problems, so she didn't complain.

Learning about Jesus, learning about his love and grace, was fulfilling. She was now getting better. Learning to rely on her saviour, a saviour which actually cared for her, which showed her peace and consolation, a saviour which ministered to her heart. She felt better.

14 months and her back had somewhat recovered. She ventured into social security, cancelled her disability pension and they simply offered her job back. She took it.

She sat there one day, but Callodyn entered her head. And then a voice spoke to her. Without looking up, Rachel asked, 'Yes, can I help you.'

'Yes, you can, wife of mine.' Rachel quickly looked up, shocked at the person standing before her. 'Callodyn,' she said. 'Is it, is it really you.'

'Yes, my love. It is I.'

She got to her feet and ran quickly around the side of the desk, almost bowling him over, throwing her arms around him. 'Oh my dearest. Callodyn. Callodyn. I had thought I had lost you forever. That day in the hotel – I thought it had been a hallucination. And suddenly you were gone.'

Samael looked into her eyes. 'That was a test of heaven dear Rachel,' he said. 'Perhaps both for me and you. But it is over now. And I will never leave you again. I swear that to you.' She continued to hug and kiss him, the absolute joy in her face giving pure happiness to Samael's heart.

'Things don't always go the way we expect them, Rachel. There is something about life. Something about this life we live. With all its dramas, complexities, and fates and destinies. Sometimes things happen which interfere and prolong our sorrow, perhaps in a way far longer than it was supposed to. But healing comes, Rachel. And Jesus really does love you. Whatever else remember that. Jesus really does love you.'

'Yes, I know he does. I feel his love. Thank you reverend. Thank you.'

The laments of Rachel Smith came to an end. The darkness she had endured for too long, a time she could not speak of, in a void of nothingness when another heart perhaps had captured that of her beloved, the darkness had finally ended. And Rachel was now born again into a new hope of life, the ways of the old life gone forever.

The End

'Aphrayel's Torment'

Chapter One

Aphrayel sat in her room in the Realm of Infinity, thinking life pretty much sucked. Really, pretty much sucked. She had loved Samael, but the last few months, watching him through the portal with Rachel Smith, and now seeing them together at last, she wondered to herself wether she would ever get her man back. 'Probably not,' she sighed in her heart.

Sandalphon, over by the window, looking out at the city, drinking his scotch, was unmoved by her sorrows. He seemed, in some way, oblivious to her suffering. Almost not caring really. But, so she felt, that was what the male angels had always been like. Harder – less sensitive – more preoccupied with their power games. No time for affairs of the heart and the needs of their maiden sisters who loved them so dearly.

She didn't want to, but finding herself walking down the steps, coming across to the library and up to the portal, she knew she could not fight the compulsion. Her eternal sorrow demanded such worship.

She stared glumly at the two of them, sniffing a little on her held back tears, wanting to cry and justify such sorrow, but a little part of her feeling better despite herself. She had accepted it in her heart. He loved Rachel, and that was the way things were. She sat down, looked at the shelf, picked up one of Dolphyel's story books, and started reading. She sat there, going through the motions, not caring much. She sat there, reading, slowly coming into the life of the tale, and gradually forgetting her sorrow.

Time passed.

4 hours later she was half way through the book and an angel had put her lunch meal in front of her, but she had not yet touched it. The lead character was a female angel named Nebraldiel. She had overcome Satan's torments, and had fought him in a fight, kicking him in the head and tying him up, hanging him from the tower of Azion. Aphrayel laughed at the irony, and silently wondered to herself if her brother Satan was still alive, still falling into eternity below.

4 more hours passed and she was finished the tale. Nebraldiel married Logos and was crowned queen of Infinity, and everyone loved her.

She put the book down and, staring at her cold lunch, started eating, thinking on Nebraldiel. She herself had no interests in Logos, and really could not imagine it anymore. Once there had been something perhaps, but it had never occurred. Perhaps a maiden like Nebraldiel would one day win his heart. Perhaps.

She went to the portal, looked through, speaking the words, and gazed upon Samael and Rachel at rest in each others arms. That was Nebraldiel and she had gotten Aphrayel's logos. Lucky girl.

She took her plate, returned it to the kitchen, and wandered out. And she wandered. For the rest of the afternoon, until it was dark, she wandered, going across to the edge of the rim, and wishing, suddenly, for something to preoccupy herself with. It was as if, now, suddenly, she had lost a focus. A focus on an aspect of eternity which gave it meaning, and on which plans had been built. And she knew in her heart that such a focus had been Samael. But that was ended, now. She knew that deep down in her heart that he would always now choose Rachel over herself.

And so she needed someone new, but really could not imagine any of her other Onaphim brothers. Really, she couldn't. But there was one. Just one she liked, a bit, now. Michael. The Seraphim Michael. He was conscientious, dutiful and caring. And a good example as the head of the Seraphim. He had been single without mating for so very long now that she felt, perhaps, perhaps Michael might make a good choice to hang around with. Now that Samael was irrevocably hitched with another, she needed a new man, and felt that it may as well be firstborn of the Seraphim.

Chapter Two

Gabriel of the Seraphim of Infinity sat down in the large pinball parlour of Nadrazon. The specialist one he had designed, just dedicated to Space Invaders. A humungous pinball parlour filled with 1,000 versions of the arcade game Space Invaders. It was based on Australian coinage from down on earth, utilising 1 cent, 2 cent, 5 cent, 10 cent, 20 cent, 50 cent, 1 dollar & 2 dollar coins, the standard coins, but also utilised the collector rare coins published by the Australian Mint, using the $10 coin, the $20 coin, the $100 coin and the extremely expensive $200 coin. Realm credits were used to purchase the coins which were then used in the arcade machines.

The 1 cent game of Space Invaders was simple. 1 life, 1 screen to complete. If you completed the screen without dying a 'Congratulations' flashed across the screen, and that was it. Not much, really, but nobody objected for just a cent. The 2 cent version was the same, with the option of entering a high score with your initials at the end. The 5 cent version offered an extra life. The 10 cent version offered 2 extra lives. The 20 cent version 3 extra lives. The 50 cent version 4 extra lives. The 1 Dollar version a total of 10 lives. The 2 Dollar version a total of 20 lives, and so on and so forth up to the mega $200 coin version which offered 500 lives and permanent storage of your score on the comprehensive all time list which, so Gabriel assured everyone, had been tweaked by God to last Googleplexian's of millennias before being full of names and then only accepting new high scores for the list. Fortunately the games from the 50 cent version had a pause button with a password feature to allow you to continue them over many days, weeks, years or as you saw fit.

It was a very basic Arcade, but amazingly popular now as so many people simply liked Space Invaders and hanging around Gabriel's parlour with good food and a good climate.

Michael was over on a 10 cent machine, trying his luck, working on his skills. Next to him, surprisingly to Gabriel, was Aphrayel, who had apparently been coming on to him for the last few weeks. Michael had taken it in good stead, but so far denied her all serious advances. And she was getting very frustrated from the looks of it. But she was a persevering type, his dear sister, and he admired her for it.

He sat at the change counter, drinking a milk shake, watching Star Trek Deep Space Nine on a DVD TV set, when Aphrayel came up. 'I need a $200 coin.'

Gabriel looked at her, and smiled. 'Is this a tactic?'

'None of your business. Here,' she handed her credit card over to him. 'Give me the coin.'

He processed it and handed her a $200 coin which he pulled out of the change drawer.

She then made for the centre of the parlour and sat down at one of the 3 large $200 coin machines, put in her coin, and started playing.

Eventually, Michael finishing his game after about another hour, walked over to Gabriel who pointed towards Aphrayel. 'I think she is trying to impress you. Give her a chance. She is our sister and a good sort, you know. I think she will never be with Samael again, so she might need someone. And I know you have always liked her.'

Michael looked at him, thinking over his role in the ecclesia of Logos. And thinking, in the end, Logos did not now forbid marriage or sexual activity for the Seraphim, that maybe Aphrayel would be the right one for him. He looked at Gabriel, looked at Aphrayel, and nodded. 'Ok, Gab. But if it backfires I will hold you responsible.'

'I don't think anything will go wrong. I know Aphrayel. She has always had a sensible head. And I know you to, Mikey. You will stay faithful. Go for it.'

Michael shrugged, ordered a milkshake, and went over to watch his younger sister.

She smiled when he sat down next to her on the other machine, but said nothing. She would impress him now, and do her best. Or die trying, she laughed to herself.

Chapter Three

She loved him. She really did. But he was hard to nail. She was tormented by his stubborn refusal to bed her, citing he was not that kind of an angel, but she reminded him that he was, in the end, only an angel and still needed his sisters' caresses and touch. And so, slowly, perhaps inevitably, perhaps inexorably, she wooed his heart, and one afternoon, sitting there together in her apartment, Michael made a move on her, and they spent the afternoon making out.

He was still good in bed, she found out. She remembered the early years when they had been together, and he had, like the others, lusted after their sisters. But then Logos had separated them and called them to purity, and she had not known him since.

But they were now together again, and she found something in Michael's heart – something placed there by the ministry of Logos – that wasn't found in Samael. A consistency, a stability, a solidity on life, a life with just a bit less humour and sarcasm, but with still a charm and sophistication that she had admired in the firstborn of the Onaphim. He was Michael, a nice guy, and sometimes it was good to go with a nice guy, not quite as much on the edge as the daring Samael.

It was a different choice, almost from a different life in a way than she had planned, but it was suitable. Yes, it was definitely suitable. And thinking that, she smiled to herself, carefully checked that dinner was cooking properly, and looked out to Michael in the lounge hoping she had now find her forever life mate. But on that being the case, well time would only tell. Time would only tell indeed.

The End


End file.
